International round-up

Roman Pavlyuchenko hit a hat-trick, Robbie Keane reached a significant landmark and both Danny Rose and Harry Kane were amongst the goals in the weekend&#8217;s internationals.

Roman Pavlyuchenko hit a hat-trick, Robbie Keane reached a significant landmark and both Danny Rose and Harry Kane were amongst the goals in the weekend’s internationals.

The action kicked off on Friday night when Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka were involved in Croatia’s 2-1 Euro 2012 qualifying win over Georgia in Split.

Saturday saw a straight shoot-out between Pav and Keano as Russia and the Republic of Ireland battled it out for supremacy in Group B of Euro qualifying.

And neither disappointed – Pav made the most of a rare opportunity in Russia’s starting lineup with three goals on his 40th appearance for his country in their 3-1 win over Armenia in St Petersburg.

But just a few hours later, Ireland went level on points with Dick Advocaat’s side thanks to Robbie’s first half double in a 2-0 win over Macedonia in Skopje.

Those were his 50th and 51st goals for his country, making him the first player in history in Great Britain and Ireland to reach a half century of international goals.

The action continued on Sunday, as Giovani Dos Santos helped Mexico kick off their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign with a 5-0 win over El Salvador.

Meanwhile, Danny Rose was on the scoresheet with a superb solo effort for England U21s in their final warm-up game before next week’s Euros against Norway in Southampton. Stuart Pearce’s men won 2-0.

But despite Harry Kane’s second goal in as many games for the U19s, they were unable to qualify for the Euro Championships at that age group after being held to a 1-1 draw by Spain in Nyon, meaning Noel Blake’s side miss out on goal difference.